Why Magufuli won't let go of beautiful Tanzania

Tanzania is big, beautiful, and full of wonder. Her lands are fertile, her ports prosperous, and her people personable. All told, she is one heaven of a catch, so much so that President John Pombe Magafuli does not want to leave her. Their legal separation comes up in 2025, with the completion of his second term, but Magufuli has stated publically that he wants to stay in the marriage. Tanzania, he fears, will suffer terribly in his absence. The next man who comes along will not be able to sustain her in the manner to which she has become accustomed.

So, Uncle Magu is sinking his spear deeper into the ground outside Tanzania’s hut. There is already a case before the high court questioning the constitutionality of a two-term presidential limit. The case has been brought by a ‘private citizen’ but it doesn’t take a political scientist to figure out who is behind it. Oh yeah, and their next election in 2020? I’m not a prophetess, but that’s a done deal y’all. The man is not for turning. Anyone who wins the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party nomination to vie for the presidency, will have done so over Magufuli’s dead body.

But what about the opposition, you may ask? What opposition? Chadema is against the ropes. One of its most vocal members is in Belgium recovering from gun shots wounds – wounds he acquired when an attempt was made on his life two years ago. He has since been stripped of his parliamentary seat. And his party leader has been put through his own series of indignities, including a four-month jail term. Several other members have been in and out of the court system defending themselves against dubious state charges.

The smaller opposition outfits have had little impact on Magufuli’s push to turn Tanzania into a one-party state. Through a sequence of strategic events—including the banning of political rallies and live broadcasts from parliament, various assaults on press freedoms including individual attacks on journalists, limitations on freedom of speech, and an out-and-out no dissent policy—the current administration has left no doubt in the minds of Tanzanians that they are being governed by an autocrat.

In just one term, Magufuli has gone from a saviour to a strongman. He started off on a constitutional note, promising to sweep the country clean within term limits, but has recently been more open and direct about his ambitions to be a cleaner for life.

Despite all his other shortcomings, though, he must be commended for being honest. Say what you will, but it’s better to deal with a devil that has shown himself, than legions who disguise themselves as pigs. Looking at Tanzania, you might be tempted to feel good about yourself as a Kenyan. On the face of things, our democracy is still intact. We are still a multi-party state where citizens can challenge the Government without fear of persecution. But where is our opposition?

What happened to the voices whose job it was to hold the incumbent and his administration to account? Well, the loudest one is now for instead of against. And the rest are making deals in the dark, more preoccupied with aligning themselves with 2022’s winning team than they are with anything else. They have chosen deceit and manipulation over honesty, and that is not just an insult to our intelligence, but a complete dismissal of our agency as the majority stakeholders in the Kenyan establishment.

Winds of change

That said, it’s all a power play. We can discuss methodology until we’re out of breath, but that won’t change the fact both here and across the border, we’re dealing with men who want to remain in charge for as long as possible. Neither have done well at improving the welfare of the majority, despite sweeping into office on the winds of change. Magufuli’s anti-corruption platform quickly turned into patronage, and Uhuru Kenyatta’s razzmatazz promises to ‘digitise an analogue nation’ dovetailed neatly into a self-aggrandising, capitalist machine.

It’s interesting that both countries started off on the same page, and ended up at the same destination. As Tanzania embraced ‘Ujamaa’ or African socialism, Kenya’s non-aligned, post-independence ideology was officially touted as ‘Democratic African Socialism’. Both schools of thought had the best interests of the people at heart, and for a good number of years those interests prevailed.

At the core of Kenya’s ideology was “social justice, human dignity and economic welfare for all”. Lofty ideal which leads me to ask, when did the rain start washing away our morals? How did we go from that to this? Then again, may be that’s irrelevant. May be our focus should be on how to fix it.

Ms Masiga is Peace and Security Editor, The Conversation Africa